Mrs. Franklin
Mrs. Franklin is a character in the Wayside School books. She does not appear in the cartoon. She only appears in Wayside School is Falling Down in the chapter "The Substitute," where Benjamin Nushmutt tries to reveal his true name to her, but everyone else in the class believes it's a prank and tries to name themselves as Benjamin as well. At the end of the chapter, she states that her first name is also Benjamin, but whether or not this is actually her first name or just her getting in on the prank is unknown. Appearance Mrs. Franklin is a woman with long gray hair tied in a ponytail and tiny spectacles. Not much more is known about her appearance, but she appears to be a caricature of historic United States politician Benjamin Franklin. She keeps her belongings in a straw bag. Personality Since she only appears in "The Substitute," much of Mrs. Franklin's personality is unknown, but the chapter seems to reveal that she is a kind and passive character, often letting her students enjoy themselves, and getting enjoyment out of how much fun they are having. When the students in the class try to prank her, she generally doesn't mind, letting the kids have fun, which effectively leads to them learning more. Joy theorizes that Mrs. Franklin simply wasn't smart enough to catch onto their prank, and Eric Bacon believes she would've gotten mad if she realized she was being pranked, but at the end of the chapter, she reveals her own name to be Benjamin, and it is left ambiguous whether or not it's her real name, or if she simply caught on to everyone else's joke. Relationships Mrs. Jewls's class Initially, when Mrs. Franklin starts substituting, the class plans out mean and horrible pranks to pull on her, though everyone ends up discarding their original ideas in favor of trying to convince her that they are all named Benjamin, something that occurs when Benjamin Nushmutt tries revealing his own name when no one else believes it. As the kids all find it funny to be called Benjamin, they all end up heavily participating in class in hopes of being called Benjamin themselves, even causing characters like Terrence and Kathy to act uncharacteristically excited, while Mrs. Franklin enjoys their enthusiasm. At the end of the chapter, the students all want Mrs. Franklin to stay. She states that since the day is over and they are friends, they don't have to be formal with her, instead calling her by her first name, which she claims to be Benjamin. Whether or not that is her actual name is unknown. Appearances Mrs. Franklin appears in one chapter. Major appearances are listed in bold. *"The Substitute" Trivia *Her appearance and name are a reference to Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Gallery The Substitute 1989.jpg|"The Substitute" (1989) The Substitute 2003.jpg|"The Substitute" (2003) The Substitute Illustration.jpg|"The Substitute" (2004) The Substitute Heitz.png|"The Substitute" (2019) Category:Characters Category:Adults Category:Teachers Category:Females Category:Introduced in Wayside School is Falling Down Category:Alive characters Category:Book-exclusive content